Gita 11.47 The vision of the universal form, even its destructive feature, is a rare favor

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GANMETO DANENADRISHTA PURVAM Arjuna has offered his prayers from text 36 to 46, 11 verses. And in response, now Krishna is speaking.

Krishna says, MAYA PRASANENA TAVARJUNEDAM BY ME JOYFULLY, HAPPILY, PRASANENA Unto you, Arjuna. RUPAM PARAM DARSHITAM AATMA YOGAAT RUPAM PARAM DARSHITAM I have shown you the supreme form. DARSHITAM AATMA YOGAAT BY MY OWN INNER POTENCY TEJO MAYAM VISHVAM ANANDA MADHYAM TEJO MAYAM The form is effulgent.

It pervades the universe. It is unlimited. It is original.

YANMETO DANYENA DRISHTA PURVAM And apart from you, nobody has seen this form before. So, here Krishna is stressing to Arjuna the point that the sight of the silph form was a special favour that has been uniquely bestowed on him. No one before had seen such a form and now Arjuna has been able to see this form.

And that is a great privilege. There are three points in this. First is, cheerfully I have done and cheerfully I have revealed and what I have revealed is extraordinary and this has not been revealed to anyone else.

Just like somebody, like a charitable person who gives charity. Sometimes some people give charity grudgingly. They do not want to give but they are obliged to give by social considerations or whatever else.

So, here Krishna has actually given Arjuna the charity by revealing his form, we could say. The charity he has given cheerfully and what he has given in charity, the revelation, that's glorious. Sometimes some people give some donation, some charity.

So, small amount they give. What if somebody has given a huge amount? Somebody gives a palatial bungalow in donation to Krishna. That is extraordinary.

So, like that, that is, Krishna is So, the described description, the epithets used to describe the universal form are many over here. It's the form. It's the transcendental, sublime form.

It's very special. It's unlimited, primeval, effulgent, pervasive. So, and then, on top of that, if somebody gives charity and then they say, this kind of charity, this magnitude of charity, I've never given before to anyone else.

That means, that's what, that's something similar is conveyed here by Krishna. To no one else have I given such a charity. This would have been, it's an extraordinary favor, a favor of the kind that has never been done before.

And seeing such a favor, the question may come up, you know, how special is it? Is there a limit to the specialness of the favor? So, the flavor of the favor is far out. And Krishna is, Krishna speaking this as a prelude in the next verse, he will say that, that actually what I've given, what I revealed to you, it cannot be seen by study of the Vedas, by performance of various charities and any other such thing. So, the point is, which Krishna will make thereafter, is that Arjuna when I have done such a great favor to you, when I've given you such a great darshan, why are you disturbed? Why are you asking that this favor be withdrawn? Why don't you want to see this form? But then Krishna will say in the 14th, 9th verse, oh Arjuna, you're disturbed? No problem.

I will withdraw this form. I don't want you to be disturbed. Just calm down.

I want you to be composed. In this verse, primarily, the stress on the, the stress is on the extraordinariness of the favor that has been restored. Now, the point is, Dhrishtapurvam, Purvam is in the past, Dhrishta is seen.

So, Arjuna has used earlier, Adhrishtapurvam rishito smidhrishtva bhayanicha pravattitam bhayanipatidam mannome tadevame rupadarit darshadevarupam prasidhadevesi jagannivasa That was 45th text. So, he had also used the same word Adhrishtapurvam. Arjuna also is acknowledging, has acknowledged that this favor is so special.

It has not been restored on anyone else by you, O Krishna. And thus, I am grateful, I am jubilant that you have chosen me for such a favor. Adhrishtapurvam rishito smidhrishtva.

Rishito smi. I am jubilant on having seen such a favor being, on receiving such a favor. But still, bhayanicha pravattitam mannome, still, what I have seen, it has filled my mind with fear.

So, Krishna will address the second half of Arjuna's concern, a second part of Arjuna's statement. Here, in this verse, Krishna is studying the first part, when Arjuna uses the word Adhrishtapurvam, and Krishna also echoes that. Arjuna, apart from you, no one has seen this form.

Now, universal form is is definitely a great favor by Krishna to Arjuna. But often, when a person is in a disturbed frame of mind, then even a favor may not seem like a favor. Even a favor may appear to be like a burden.

And the solution to this is to address the underlying concern, because of which a person is finding the favor to be a burden, burden, favor to be a fear. So, that is because, first, Vikalarupa was not identifiable for Arjuna, and even when it was identified, it was fearsome. Krishna will address that fear by changing his form and revealing first his four-handed form, and then his two-handed form.

That we will discuss in due course.